


the beast you made of me

by Alley_Walk (AlleyWalk_writes)



Series: DGM + BNHA AUs [3]
Category: D.Gray-man, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Allen Walker is Todoroki Shouto's twin, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Child Abuse, Child Neglect, Depression, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Genderfluid Midoriya Izuku, Inko is best mom, M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Queerplatonic Relationships, Skinwalker Izuku, Timeskip, Trans Allen Walker, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Violence, dont worry the name Asuka is Unisex, feral!Izuku, i renamed Izuku and Allen, realistic take on child abuse in BNHA fandom, red!allen, they're called Tora and Asuka now, villain rehab, will diverge from canon as i please
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-04
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:40:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22074145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlleyWalk_writes/pseuds/Alley_Walk
Summary: Izuku, at the age of five and up, has:1. been kidnapped by villains because of his quirk.2. skinned alive more humans and animals than he can count.3. been rescued from those villains and put into villain rehab.4. befriended two lonely fire-and-ice boys and a man with a very comfortable scarf.5. had that same group of villains escape prison and continue to be out for either his blood or his loyalty.6. realized that all of these things put together might make him a little in over his head when it comes to going to UA or interacting with his idol in any way, shape or form.Well, if things get weird he can always turn into a Raccoon Dog and go back to eating frogs.
Relationships: Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead/Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic, Allen Walker & Shinsou Hitoshi, Allen Walker/Shinsou Hitoshi, Bakugou Katsuki & Midoriya Izuku, Eri & Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Izuku & Allen Walker, Midoriya Izuku & Midoriya Inko, Midoriya Izuku & Todoroki Shouto, Midoriya Izuku/Todoroki Shouto, Uraraka Ochako/Yaoyorozu Momo
Series: DGM + BNHA AUs [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1601125
Comments: 8
Kudos: 43





	1. if you could only see

**Author's Note:**

> y'all, i have no idea what i'm doing with this one. i'm just here to have fun and write a story and see where it takes me. this'll probably be canon compliant to some degree but don't be surprised if i skip canon when and where i please, bc honestly reading the opening scenes over and over again just gets so t i r i n g, at least imo.
> 
> Now, as it says in the tags, Izuku calls himself "Tora" in this, mostly because of how his characterization came about and how that changed how he sees himself. this will not be changing. if you don't like, don't read. Edit: as for Allen, well, in this AU he was reborn as Endeavour's trans son. he does have a past life as an Exorcist, but it's in the BNHA universe and he doesn't exactly remember it... _yet._ There won't be any other Exorcists unfortunately for Plot Reasons. As for the Noah... well you'll see. Anyone not a DGM fan, Allen's past life (when it comes up) will be explained or not be integral to the plot enough to really matter. But it will come up, just a warning.
> 
> with all this said, let's get on with the story!
> 
> Edit: I've decided that Tora will sometimes call himself Izuku in his head, as with people who have aliases or trans people (at least in my experience) have trouble adapting to a new name when they've had another one all their life, even if they _want_ the new name.
> 
> Alright, see you at the bottom! ^_^

Izuku was sniffling while sitting on a park bench, his skinned knee stinging. Kacchan had left him because he had started crying over it, calling him a big baby and stalking off. He _wasn’t_ a baby, and he was mostly crying because of Kacchan, now.

They used to be such great friends, that is, until Kacchan’s quirk came in.

Then, suddenly, it was all about quirks, with everyone in the class showing off theirs. Everyone _except_ Izuku.

It wasn’t even that Izuku didn’t have a quirk. But when his mom had found him in the backyard skinning a cat that had been run over by a car with one of their kitchen knives, something pure and instinctual inside him urging him on, she had sworn him to secrecy. Izuku kicked his feet, petulant. He had no idea why his mom had been so vehement about it, but he figured it must be for a good reason.

He trusted his mom.

Suddenly, a man with black hair and sharp green eyes stepped up next to Izuku, something about him making the young boy shift with unease. “Does it hurt?” The man asked softly, and Izuku nodded, wiping at his face with his sleeve.

The man smiles widely. “Good.” He seizes Izuku’s knee in a crushing grip, and Izuku cries out in pain as redness wells up underneath the man’s fingers.

The man smiles pleasantly at him, holding up a hand. “Ah-ah. You wouldn’t want to be too loud. You wouldn’t want your friend to hear you over there, would you?” Izuku turned his head slightly, only to see Kacchan, coming back down the street with a first aid kit, a scowl on his face. Shadows writhed around him, and Izuku saw a spear of pure darkness rising up behind Kacchan, the tip poised to skewer him right through the heart.

“S-stop!” Izuku exclaimed, and the shadows paused. He took in a shaky breath. “What do y-you want with m-me?”

The man smiled widely. “Why everything, little Izuku. Everything you could possibly give me.”

And then he took his hand off of Izuku’s knee, patting it gently, and he took him by the hand and lead him away.

* * *

Sen* wakes up slowly, his mind slowly piecing itself back together. He had been dreaming about Takahashi-senpai, the first time they had met. Sen sort of misses him. Sort of, because while he always gave good advice and was the one who taught him how to fight, and he had always stopped Kaede and the others from going too far, he had never stopped them outright unless it suited him. But, he remembers sleepily, as he’s currently in villain rehabilitation and the rest of The Black Order are in prison, he won’t be seeing any of them any time soon.

Which is good.

…Right?

Yes, it is good, Sen decides.

“Izuku, breakfast is ready!” Sen’s milk-mother calls, and Sen feels a flash of annoyance before he gets up on all four paws and gives a luxurious stretch, his tail curling into a hook before lowering as he leaps off of the nest and onto the floor, the loud-string that his milk-mother insists he wears in this form jingling as he trots into the kitchen. The food smells heavenly, and Sen’s ears prick as he watches his milk-mother standing over the human device that produces such glorious food, the sound of sizzling and the smell of fish and steamed rice filling the air. Jumping up onto the high-up flat-plain, Sen meows in a demand for immediate attention.

His milk-mother glances back at him with amusement. “Just a second Izu-I mean, Tora.” She says, correcting herself when Sen bristles. Sen’s ears prick, his tail swishing slightly with his annoyance. His milk-mother looks at him mock sternly. “Tora, you know the rules. No skins at the table.”

Sen meows a complaint, but his milk-mother just shakes her head and goes back to the miracle cooking device. Sen gives another complaint, his ears flattening with displeasure. Gathering up his courage, he hops down off of the flat-plain and shakes himself, and is suddenly Tora. The abrupt shift in perception from cat to human is always startling, and Tora hates it every time.

Standing up from his crouch Tora removes the house cat skin from his back, tucking it back under the pantskirt he’s currently wearing and zipping it back up over the skins. The pantskirts were modified things made by the Support Department itself. They were in various colors and designs just like normal clothing, the only difference being that they had a certain length that covered up his animal skins and had specialized zippers that made it a piece of cake to get at his skins.

Sitting at the kitchen table, Tora looks on eagerly as mom sets the plate of food in front of him. All thought processes short circuit as Tora digs in, and it’s only as he comes up for air, his chopsticks full of rice and nori halfway up to his mouth as he blinks owlishly at his mother, realizing she’d said something.

“Sorry?” Izuku says, cocking his head at her.

Mom smiles at him. “Is it good then, Tora-kun?”

Izuku nods, smiling enthusiastically. “Yeah mom, I love your cooking!” Well, along with anything else he can reasonably fit into his mouth, but his mom doesn’t need to know that. 

He lifts up a piece of the fish to his mouth and finds himself transfixed by the fish skin dangling from in between his chopsticks. And in his mind it’s suddenly not a fish skin anymore, warping and twisting into something tortured and distinctly  _ human _ . He drops his chopsticks, his hand feeling burned. His stomach churns and he looks down at his food, suddenly not so hungry. But it’d be rude to abandon his mother at the table. 

He flicks his wrist and a knife appears in his hands. He flips the knife up into the air, watching it spiral end over end before he catches by the hilt with practiced ease. Flip, catch. Flip, catch. Flip, catch. “Izu-Tora.” His mom interjects, and Tora looks up at her, his eyes dull. Her smile softens as she says, “why don’t we go watch some television on the couch?”

Tora perks up, abandoning his food to stand up out of the chair. Unzipping part of his pantskirt, he grabs his house cat skin and pulls it up over his head, neurons firing as the animal instincts inside him come to the fore. Sen lands on all four paws, his tail erect and waving in the air as he looks up at his milk-mother expectantly. 

She chuckles, leaning down to scoop him up in her arms. Sen snuggles into her warm embrace, purring slightly as she strokes the top of his head. She takes him to the nest-that-is-not-for-sleeping, sitting down upon it and leaning against its back, turning on the noise box by the complaints of its kit. The kit is small and rectangular, and never grows, but Sen figures it must be a non-aging being, just as Sen is a being that only comes into existence at certain times, even if he does remember the times where he is _non-_ existent. Sen relaxes under the warm fingers of his milk-mother as she strokes his fur, drifting into a pleasant half-sleep. 

Sen wakes up to the familiar _ding!_ coming from his room. His ears twitch, and he shakes himself awake, wondering if it was The Angry One, Cold Friend or The Red One. The Angry One often needed assurances to his safety, so it could likely be him, but Cold Friend or The Masked One would both be welcome beings to communicate with. Stretching with a yawn, Sen nuzzles his milk-mother’s neck affectionately before leaping off of the not-nest and padding into his den.

Standing in the middle of his den, Sen gives a shiver as his pelt slides off and away, Tora removing the skin from his back and tucking it back into his pantskirt. Lying on his bed, Tora picks up his phone and looks at the messages he’s received. 

_*King_Explodo_Kill* is online!_

_King_Expolodo_Kill: you still alive, you shitty deku?_

_King_Explodo_Kill: DEKU_

_King_Explodo_Kill: I FUCKING SWEAR ILL COME OVER THERE_

_*tigris_cutis* is online!_

_tigris_cutis: jeez Kacchan chill a little, it’s been what, five minutes?_

_King_Explodo_Kill: FUCKING_

_King_Explodo_Kill: fuck it, whatever_

_King_Explodo_Kill: when are you going to be coming back to school, dipshit?_

Izuku pauses. He really did want to go back to school. He loved school, he loved to learn. Homeschool just wasn’t the same. And now that practically everyone knew he had a quirk from his brief stint in the spotlight, well… at least he wouldn’t be teased about that anymore. But the therapists were adamant that he wasn’t ready, that a classroom environment would not be healthy for him. Tora had time. He was only twelve.

But… 

He looks around at all the All-Might memorabilia in his room and sighs. Being a hero just like All-Might had been his dream for years as a kid, but if he was being honest with himself, he wasn’t even sure if he wanted to do that anymore. Could that really be him, after everything he’d done? He didn’t think so, but he could never be sure. He rarely knew what to think of himself anymore.

_King_Explodo_Kill: deku?_

_tigris_cutis: not just yet. maybe soon though._

_King_Explodo_Kill: it fucking BETTER be_

The conversation lulls after that, so Tora checks on his other friend. Tora’s other friend is actually the twin of his jailbuddy, the other person who had escaped from that place. His name was Todoroki Shouto, and though Tora hadn’t given away his name they had both mutually bonded over being unwantedly famous. Tora figures that his other friend ratted him out. Which is probably good considering how often Tora casually talks about killing people, eating roadkill, and other normal things that animals do.

_tigris_cutis: hi, shouto. how are things today?_

_Icyhot: everything’s been pretty low-key so far. we had to do some training this morning, but nothing major._

_tigris_cutis: that’s good._

Izuku frowns to himself. He really doesn’t like the way Shouto talks about his and his twin brother’s training. As if it’s something that they’re both more forced into doing than something they’re doing of their own free will. Tora had been like that, at first, with Takahashi-senpai. By the time he was nine, he had been eager to learn anything the man would teach him. Tora growls, baring his teeth at himself as if that will make the problems in his head go away. Tora shakes himself and sighs, typing before he can properly think.

_tigris_cutis: I wish we could train together._

_Icyhot: ? I wasn’t aware that you were training to be a hero, Tora._

_tigris_cutis: I’m sort of on the fence about it to be honest. It’s why I never told you, but I have been training, jic._

_Icyhot: if we’re meeting up we should do it somewhere remote, where people can’t see us train._

_tigris_cutis: alright_

_tigris_cutis: how about Hokkaido forest? that’s pretty remote, and it should suit our needs for our quirks._

_Icyhot: using your quirk in a public space is illegal._

_tigris_cutis: murder is also illegal, and yet it hasn’t stopped me. ;))_

_Icyhot: please stop saying things like that_

_tigris_cutis: no ;)_

They hash out the details and decide to meet at 3 o’clock tomorrow, barring Shouto can get his brother to agree. 

Tora can’t wait.

* * *

There was something to be said about relaxing at home after work with the friends and coworkers he's had since high school. 

That thing would be _annoying_.

"Shouta c'mon, let me finish styling your hair! I'm almost done!" Hizashi insists, Nemuri taking pictures off to the side, probably for blackmail purposes, knowing her.

Aizawa gives him a dead eyed stare. "No."

"Then let's watch a movie. How do you feel about _Die Hard 2_?"

Aizawa raises an eyebrow at Hizashi. "I don't know what you just said, but considering your taste in movies, I think I'll pass." 

Nemuri nods in agreement over her coffee mug, making Hizashi wilt, before perking up. "How about-?"

There is a sudden noise at the door to Aizawa's home, and they all look up, eyes sharp. The petulant mewling makes everyone relax, and from the kitchen comes Asuka's call of, "I can get it!" Todoroki Asuka, Aizawa's student and son of #2 Hero Endeavour, had been kidnapped at the age of seven by a group of villains calling themselves 'The Black Order'. As he was the son of the #2 Hero, this had been a mistake on their part. By the time Asuka was eleven, the organization had been thoroughly weeded out and shut down.

Asuka is currently doing his catch-up work at the kitchen table, as Aizawa had refused to do any sort of training with him until he got his current assignments done. Asuka had insisted on going back to school the moment he had come home, and Endeavour had not denied him that, but of course it couldn’t be that simple. Asuka had missed years of schoolwork because of his time with the villains, which meant he had a lot to catch up on before he could properly reintegrate with his peers. Aizawa didn’t doubt that the other victim of the Black Order, a child named Midoriya Izuku who had strong mutation quirk, was dealing with the same. 

Asuka strides through the living room, his red and white hair bouncing in its ponytail as he focuses his good eye (and damn does it make Aizawa furious, to see that scar carved so deeply into the left side of his face that not even healing quirks could fully heal his eye) on the doorway, unlatching and unlocking the door before opening it to smile crookedly down at their visitor. The feline at their door is not one of the stray cats the Aizawa feeds on a daily basis, in fact he – or he/they as Asuka insists his pronouns are – already has an owner, one Midoriya Inko. (And if Asuka’s insistence on the fact of _a cat’s_ gender didn’t already make Aizawa suspicious he knew for a fact that Endeavour’s youngest children had been said to be a pair of fraternal twins; Todoroki Shouto a boy, and Todoroki Asuka a girl. But he never asks. So long as it doesn’t interfere with his training it’ll stay Asuka’s business). 

Their feline visitor has black along his back and sides, with grey toned stripes near his shoulders and on his back that form black and grey white toed socks on his legs with a black and grey striped tail. There are interspersing black markings down the middle of his forehead with grey at the sides that turn to black at his cheeks, with his nose, neck and stomach white along with parts of his legs. He has the most captivating eyes, emerald green with specks of gold and chocolate brown, giving him an almost palpable aura of mystery around him. Aizawa has identified him as an American Wirehair, but that doesn’t stop the aura of mystery from lingering around the cat, even if he does call the number on the collar nearly every time he comes over.

After a short call with Midoriya-san to make sure she’s not searching all over in a panic like she had the first few times he had called the number on the collar and that she’s fine with Tora staying for a while, he hangs up only to find Tora gone with Asuka’s voice coming from the kitchen, his two numbskull friends peering in. Aizawa narrows his eyes at them both, and Hizashi looks over with a fake-serious I’m-not-excited-at-all expression as he dances in place and makes frantic _come hither_ motions with his hands, Nemuri placing a finger to her lips with her eyes dancing with mischief. Aizawa lets out a silent sigh and glides over as silent as a ghost, peering in along with them just to stop the madness. 

Asuka is sitting at the kitchen table with Tora lying in his lap, stroking his fur while he talks in a quiet voice, absently scribbling answers down on his homework. “Shouto’s doing fucking fine, so stop worrying so damn much. Father’s been working him too damn hard trying to get him to use his fire side, but at least he’s paying attention to him. Sometimes I wish…” Asuka doesn’t expound on what it is he wishes, but Tora bumps his head against his stomach, and Asuka grins, scratching him behind the ears. Asuka’s look turns thoughtful. “Can cats eat homework, do you think?”

Tora cocks his head, turning to the papers as if considering it. It’s at times like these that Aizawa wonders if Tora has some sort of intelligence quirk like Nedzu, except without the capability for human speech. This seems like a good time to cut in.

Aizawa steps into the room, deliberately letting the floor creak underneath his weight. Allen’s head snaps towards him, his eyes sharp. He relaxes upon sight of Aizawa, who crosses his arms over his chest. “No cats will be eating any homework.”

And Asuka sighs.

* * *

_tigris_cutis: when are you guys getting here?_

_Ice-Ice-Hangry: you do get that not everyone can just fucking turn into a bird and fly everywhere, right?_

_Icyhot: I’m still skeptical about that._

_tigris_cutis: well you sure wont be once you get here._

_Ice-Ice-Hangry: yeah, whatever. you can hardly doubt it once you see it._

_Ice-Ice-Hangry: fucking finally! we’re here!_

Todoroki looks up from his phone. Sure enough, their tram has stopped at Hokkaido station. The twins both exchange looks before disembarking, paying the rather large fee to get into Hokkaido National Park. Todoroki takes an appreciative look around as they walk through the forest of papyrus trees, the sunlight cutting through the canopy above and dappling onto the ground, illuminating the forest around them in a bright luminescence. Animal calls break through the otherwise silent forest, and Todoroki takes a deep breath of the crisp fresh air around them.

“It’s peaceful here,” Todoroki comments.

Asuka shrugs. “Yeah, I guess.”

“I know, it’s great isn’t it?” A male voice says from behind them, and Todoroki whirls, Asuka turning with him in tandem. The kid in front of them is about their age, with curly black and green hair and emerald green eyes, and when Todoroki looks closer he thinks he might see other colors inside his eyes.

Asuka relaxes at the sight of him, however, which makes Todoroki relax too. Asuka smiles crookedly at him. “Hey, Tora.”

Tora grins. “Hey.”

There’s a moment of awkward silence where no one’s sure what to say, and then Todoroki asks, “so where are we sparring?”

Tora’s face lights up. At around five o’clock they’ve given up on sparring and are laid down in the grass, sweaty and tired with Tora perched in the trees as a barn owl, having stolen Asuka’s necklace somewhere in between shifting between a tiger and his current form.

They split up at about six o’clock, and Todoroki can’t help but wish they could do this again.

Maybe they can. 


	2. there's a pain in my heart and it won't go away

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey y'all! guess who just wrote this instead of sleeping? this girl! .・゜゜・
> 
> so yeah, that was fun. (not).
> 
> aaanyway, i feel like i should clarify that the reason Tora's name changes with each form he takes has to do with his quirk and the type of mindset that he gets in that form. sorry if that was confusing to anyone!
> 
> anyway, there are some fight scenes in this, nothing too graphic but well, the warning's there for a reason. also some hints of starvation, hearing voices and child abuse. (This is also where things finally start to tie in to canon, jic anyone's interested).

Time passes quickly for Tora. In between seeing his friends, check ups with his therapists and being reintegrated into the school system, it’s not long before two years pass by with his fourteenth day of birth rolling around along with everyone else’s in a huge celebration that Tora and his whole group of friends took part in. (Which was a miracle considering how much Asuka and Kacchan disliked each other).

As of now Tora was lurking around some of his old haunts when he used to be with The Black Order, hoping for… he's not sure what. Currently Nezumi is skittering along in back alleyways, his nose twitching as he takes in the delightful scents of garbage around him. His long furry tail waves out behind him, his large rounded ears pricked as he runs. It's the middle of the night, and he really should be resting, but Nezumi can't help but think his denmother will understand. She always seems to with things like this. Not that that means he'll be off the hook from going to the learning-place. But Nezumi doesn't really mind that.

Nezumi freezes in place at the exit to an alleyway, his tiny heart beating rapidly at the sound of voices. His ears pricked, he scuttles over to get a closer look. There's a human man gripping a little girl's arm in a vice grip, trying to drag her away. Nezumi notes the girls off-white hair and bright red eyes, with a small stubby horn on the left side of her forehead. "Let me go you stupid jerk!" The little girl says, struggling in his grasp with tears in her eyes, and Nezumi moves before he can think. 

Skittering up behind the man Nezumi is suddenly Tigris, and with a roar he leaps on top of the man, making him fall to the ground with a startled yelp. The little girl rips herself out of the man's grasp and stares at Tigris as his claws dig into the man's back as he struggles underneath him, and he leans down lightning quick to bite into the back of his neck, severing his spinal cord. And then Tigris is Tora, pushing the tiger skin off of his head and back and hurriedly stuffing it into his pantskirt, licking the blood off of his lips with the taste of copper in his mouth.

The little white haired girl is watching him warily, a small spark of hope in her eyes. And Tora–well, no one had ever come to save him, had they? Crouching down so he’s down to her level, Tora asks, cocking his head, “Are you okay?”

The little girl bristles like an offended cat. “I’m fine.” She says curtly.

Izuku smiles. She’s got spirit, this one. “You have a name, I’m Fine-chan?”

“It’s Eri.” Eri hesitates. “And you?”

Izuku flashes her another smile. “Tora.” Izuku hesitates. “Listen, I can get you somewhere safe, but you’ve gotta trust me. Can you do that?”

Eri squints her eyes suspiciously. “Police?”

Izuku shakes his head. “My house. Only me and my mom live there, so it should be safe for you.”

There’s a certain pain in Eri’s eyes when Tora mentions his mother, but it passes quickly, replaced with a dubious look on her face. “And your mom will be okay with me staying with you?”

“Sure.” Izuku says, and Eri shoots him a skeptical look. Tora sighs with a tired smile. “Let’s just get going. I’m sure you’d like to take a bath and sleep on clean sheets for once.” Eri gets a longing look on her face, and after a few seconds she nods. Tora smiles at her nervously. “Don’t be scared, alright?”

Eri huffs, offended. “I won’t be.” She says, not even asking what not to be scared of.

Unzipping his pantskirt, Tora pulls his wolf skin over his head, something within his brain clicking into place as he lands on all four paws. Urufu shakes out his fur and sneezes, looking at the cub that he needs to take back to the den. The cub’s eyes are wide, but she smells of wonder, not fear. She reaches out boldly to fist her small hand into his ruff, and Urufu whines at her. Suddenly there are tears in her eyes and then she’s burying her face into the ruff of his neck, sniffling quietly. Urufu whines again, turning his head to lick her ear, nudging at the cub with his snout.

The cub pulls back and nods determinedly at him, Urufu giving her a lick on the chin before he crouches down, the cub slinging her leg over his back and grabbing onto his thick fur as he stands. He starts at a trot, gradually picking up the pace until they reach the den, leaping through the window he’d left open for himself and landing inside the den. The cub clambers off of his back and Tora shucks off his wolf skin, tucking it into his pantskirt and looking over at Eri. “So which first, bath or bed?”

Eri hesitates. “Bath?”

Izuku nods. “Okay.” Leading her into his bedroom he finds a shirt that should fit her like a decent-sized dress and a pair of boxers that are old enough that they should mostly fit her. Taking her into the bathroom Tora runs the bath for her, making sure she’s okay with the temperature. “Alright, I’ll leave you to it.” As he’s leaving he catches the slightly helpless look on her face and wants to kick himself. She’s what, seven? She probably has barely any idea how to wash herself. And by the smell of her she hasn’t been washed in a really long time. “I could help you if you want me to.” Izuku offers.

Eri huffs, and then deflates, kicking at the floor with her bare feet. “Yeah, that’d be… that’d be nice.” She says quietly, her red eyes looking up at him for a moment with hesitance and hope.

Tora helps Eri out of the tattered brown dress she’d been wearing, unwrapping the bandages around her arms to reveal round bloody wounds scattered on her arms, some not even scabbed over yet. At least they didn’t look infected. Tora doesn’t ask, just helps the skinny little girl into the water and begins pouring water over her hair. The bathtime was particularly unpleasant for Tora, because he had to force himself to willingly touch another human while in human form. Eri doesn’t seem to enjoy it much either, though the relief when they finally put conditioner in her hair and get it smooth and silky is palpable. By the time he’s done he’s had to drain the tub twice just from the amount of accumulated dirt on Eri’s body, but she’s freshly washed and dried, wearing Tora’s clothes with her former rat’s nest of hair put to rights so that it falls like a waterfall down her back, fresh bandages wrapped around her arms.

They both fall asleep together on Tora’s bed, Tigris curling himself protectively around his new streakmate. Unfortunately, it’s not Tora’s alarm clock that wakes them.

“Izuku? Who is this?”

* * *

Todoroki Asuka walks down the streets of musufastu with troubled thoughts on his mind. He was eagerly awaiting the UA entrance exams, (he _was not_ nervous) to take them and finally gain his father’s approval. It’s not like he was jealous of Shouto for the attention he was getting from their father (maybe a little), that was the sort of attention that he really didn’t want to be focused on him, anyway. Besides, he had Aizawa-sensei, so he should be happy he even has that.

Besides, Shouto didn’t even have to take the entrance exam like Asuka did. (Just the extra with the quirk that wasn’t as useful as his twin’s, that wasn’t as convenient or _like his father’s-_ ) Asuka sighs. As he’s walking under an underpass looking at the half open manhole cover with confusion when he hears a male scream, quickly cut off. At the head of the underpass there’s a bunch of snot green slime with two eyes that’s currently engulfing a boy with wild tufts of purple hair, shoving itself down his throat.

The reason Endeavour didn’t see Asuka’s quirk as convenient was simple. Asuka, unlike Shouto, could not create water or fire from his body. However Asuka, unlike Shouto, could control _outside sources_ of water or fire. So Asuka reaches out with his senses, grabbing the slime with a thought and _pulling_. Twirling his arms through the air, the slime swirls into a ball up above the victim’s head as he gasps and chokes, the final bits of slime being pulled from his lungs.

“You okay?” Asuka asks.

“Yeah, just fine.” The other boy snarks through a sore throat.

“Well you look like shit,” Asuka comments.

The boy barks out a laugh. “Yeah, no kidding.”

“There is no need to fear!” Comes a voice from deep in the sewers, making the boy sigh and mutter ‘figures.’ “Why? Because I am-!” All-Might comes bursting out of the manhole, trademark smile on his face. Looking upon the scene before him his smile drops into a perplexed expression. He scratches the side of his head. “Well, it seems things have escalated without me. Would one of you boys mind telling me what went on here?”

* * *

Being told he’d done a good job by All-Might was not what Shinsou was expecting when he woke up this morning. But then again, neither were smothering slime villains and his mysterious white haired knight in shining armour who’d saved the day. Well, not exactly mysterious. His face had been plastered all over the news for several months about two years ago, so he knew that he was Endeavour’s son and that he had been kidnapped by villains as a child. 

As he and Asuka walk in a silence that Shinsou is perfectly comfortable with on their way home from the attack, Asuka finally breaks the silence. “You’re pretty scrawny for someone who wants to be a hero.” 

Shinsou turns his head so fast he nearly gives himself whiplash. “How did you know?” He asks, feeling vaguely insulted about the ‘scrawny’ comment.

Asuka shrugs and freely admits, “I guessed.”

Inwardly, Shinsou groans in despair. Outwardly, Shinsou deadpans, “Guessed.”

Asuka nods with a smirk. “Yep.”

This kid is _infuriating_.

Shinsou pulls out his earbuds and ignores him for the rest of the walk, Asuka huffing, affronted before he starts making stupid faces at him that almost, _almost_ make him smile. They make their separate ways after Asuka snags his phone from his pocket, typing something into it with lightning speed before shoving it at Shinsou again.

Shinsou will only look at it later and realize that he gave him his number.

Did Shinsou just make a friend? Is that what they are now? Or maybe acquaintances.

Whatever it is, Shinsou wants to grab onto it with both hands and keep it for as long as possible.

So long as he doesn’t ask about his quirk… 

_A villain is a villain is a villain, Shinsou._ The voice in his head purrs, smooth and sickly like poison.

…So long as Asuka doesn’t know about his quirk, everything

will

be

just

f i n e.

* * *

Eri sits up in bed clutching the covers in her fists, bristling at the sight of the strange woman at the door to her savior’s bedroom. She hunches defensively, and she can feel her horn humming with power, stirred to life by her anxiety. Eri doesn’t like using her quirk. She never has, especially after that first time. The first time had been… bad, and it had been what made her lose her home in the first place.

In Eri’s experience all her quirk does is hurt people, and while that can be necessary at times she’d really rather not poof any more people out of existence if she can help it. Before Eri can decide one way or the other her savior gives a languid stretch, turning and butting his huge head against her ( _not_ tiny!) chest, and Eri relaxes as her tired mind finally remembers that her savior had told her there were two people living in this house; him and his mother.

Eri’s just not sure if she can trust Tora’s mother not to call the police as soon as she learns about the situation at hand, but she trusts her savior to protect her. (She’s so tired of being used). Tora sits up in bed in tiger form before Eri watches the change happen again with fascinated eyes. The tiger’s body shifts and changes, a human hand reaching up from within the depths of the tiger skin to pull it off and away from their body, Tora being revealed underneath it as he tucks the skin into the front of his ruffled pantskirt, Eri glancing curiously at the skins held within as he zips it back up.

Tora blinks for a second, looking disoriented before he meets his mothers eyes, glancing back at Eri who clambers closer to him on the bed, not quite touching. She hated being touched, ever since her time with Chisaki. Touching an animal, even if it was through a quirk, was… different somehow. (Comforting). Luckily Tora seems to understand, as he doesn’t reach out to touch her in any way. “Mom, this is my new friend Eri. Eri, this is my mom, Midoriya Inko.”

Eri had been curious as to what Tora’s last name was. The name Midoriya sounds vaguely familiar, but she tables it and meets Inko’s eyes with a challenging look. “Hello, Inko-san.” She says rudely. (Mother always said it was rude to be too familiar with people that she didn’t know well yet. It was a good thing, then, that it was Eri’s intention to be rude).

Inko appears startled. “Hello, Eri-chan.” The woman replies, making Eri huff with annoyance. What gives her the right to call her “chan”? Only Tora should be able to call her that. “Izu–Tora-kun, where did Eri come from? Where are her parents? They must be worried sick.”

Eri bristles, her hands fisting at her sides. “She doesn’t care about me! She _let them take me._ ” There are furious tears in her eyes, and she dashes them away angrily. She hears a thunderous growl from beside her, and she looks over to see Tora growling with his teeth bared, slightly sharpened canine teeth glistening in the darkness. Oddly, this one action by Tora makes Eri feel safe. He’s obviously angry, so she’s not sure why, and he killed Ayamu with ease. But this anger feels like it’s more _for her_ than _at her,_ and somehow that makes it comforting rather than scary.

Even if her savior is a monster, Eri thought that having a monster on her side would be better protection when the other monsters come out to play. 

Plus she’s never had a pet before. So there’s that.

Taking a deep breath her savior calms himself, his mother flicking on the light and making Eri blink her eyes to adjust. Now that she’s more rested she can finally take a look around the room. At the head of the bed is an All-Might poster, and hanging next to it is a black dreamcatcher with green and black feathers. Strings of beads big and small line the walls, hanging haphazardly at various heights and lengths, some so tangled together they could be called their own strands, the multicolored beads interspersed with feathers and fur attached to their leather strings, with white paper cranes hanging from the ceiling. A bookcase on one wall is filled to the brim with books and notebooks, with a desk in the corner that has papers and pencils scattered about with a few well worn textbooks stacked on top of each other, a backpack leaning up against the leg of the desk.

“She was being attacked by a villain, mom.” Tora says. Inko’s eyes widen. “Don’t worry, I took care of it.”

“‘Took care of it’?” Inko says carefully.

“He sure won’t be bothering Eri again.” Tora says, his mouth curling up a little in amusement.

Inko pauses and looks her son in the eye. Then she smiles. “Well then, I suppose Eri will be staying here for a while. Eri, have you had anything to eat lately?”

Eri expects her stomach to growl at the mention of food, but there’s nothing. Her stomach stopped growling at some point when she had been with Chisaki and all they had fed her was water and bits of bread, and she didn’t even feel hungry, really. Eri shrugs. “No. But I’m not really all that hungry, either.”

Tora and Inko both look at her with concern, making Eri bristle, and Tora says, “Why don’t we try some soup first?”

Inko nods, a soft look on her face. “That’s probably for the best.”

“We might as well.” Eri grumbles, _since we’re already up._

Inko makes the soup while Eri tries to look relaxed on the couch, actually succeeding when a black and white cat with green eyes jumps into her lap. With a relieved sigh Eri pulls Tora to her chest, burying her face into his fur. He smells like cat and the subtle scent of lilacs. When the miso soup is put on a tray in front of her she’s not expecting it to smell so good. Her stomach finally makes a complaint, though it’s faint. Tora sits up in her lap, tail waving as he sniffs at the soup. Eri bats him away from her soup and Tora looks at her, amused, butting his head against her chin. Eri huffs, taking a spoonful of the (wonderful) soup and putting it into her mouth. The heat after she swallows warms her all the way down to her stomach, but she still finds she can’t finish it.

Eri goes to bed clean and warm and finally, finally safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nezumi means "mouse" in Japanese.
> 
> Tigris means well, "Tiger" in latin, just as Urufu means "wolf" in Japanese. I thought about using the more commonly used Okami, but decided against it. The only reason I used Nezumi was because I have a fondness for the name bc of a certain anime.
> 
> So what do you think of Eri? I personally haven't read that far in the manga, but from what I read about her in the wikia her character just seemed written so as to be receptive to Izuku. So I decided to give her a bit more spunk. You like? Don't like? What do you think of Shinsou and Allen's meet-up? 
> 
> See y'all next chap! ^_^


	3. the saints can't help me now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the UA entrance exam starts
> 
> things quickly go to hell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey, y'all!
> 
> so, I just want to say that I am so. excited for this chap and the one following it! o((*^▽^*))o
> 
> I always find that just rehashing the same entrance exam over and over to be interesting from an outside perspective just to see what that new version of Izuku can do, but I found I _really_ didn't feel like writing it. And if I wasn't looking forward to writing it, I figured some people wouldn't be looking forward to reading it. Soo~ I decided to spice things up a little.
> 
> I can't think of any particular warnings, so enjoy! ^_^

Tora puts on his very best pantskirt for the day, the fabric smooth underneath his fingertips. It’s the day of the UA entrance exam, and Tora doesn’t feel at all ready. He’s still uncertain that he can manage being a hero, but saving Eri had woken something inside of him that he had long thought dead and buried. Looking at himself in the mirror to check his appearance, Tora nods to himself and goes out to the kitchen. 

Mom is already making breakfast, with Eri sitting at the table drawing in her notebook with some crayon. Eri had complained of her hair lately, so mom had cut the strands so that they were down to her shoulder blades, and Eri seemed happier with the change. Eri beams at the sight of him. “Morning, Tora-senpai!” 

Izuku smiles at her, sitting down in the chair next to her and asking, “Do you want me to braid your hair today?”

Eri shrugs. “If you want to.” Which was as good as a ‘yes’ from Eri. 

Tora smiles, half wishing he could reach out and ruffle her hair. “Okay, then.”

Mom sets down their plates in front of them, and Tora’s thought processes fizzle out as he practically inhales his food. It’s only when it’s all gone that he registers outside stimuli again. Mom is looking at him in amusement, but Eri isn’t because she’s too busy inhaling  _ her _ food. 

After breakfast Tora slips on his shoes and is out the door, with Mom and Eri wishing him goodbye.

* * *

Entering through the gates of UA is very intimidating, the glass fronted building looming above him, pristine and pure in all the ways that Tora is not. He doesn’t belong here. What is he doing, a former villain taking the UA entrance exam? He should just go. Taking a step backwards, Tora bumps into someone that had been behind him. A hand lands on his shoulder and Tora startles, his skin crawling, pulling away.

“Hey, are you okay? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.” A girl with chocolate brown hair in a bob cut with the same color eyes asks. 

Izuku blinks at her. “N-no. I just…”  _ I just don’t think I’m cut out to be a hero. _

“You’re nervous?” The girl asks sympathetically. She smiles at him brightly. “Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll make it through! And even if you don’t you should still give it your all, don’t you think?”

This girl… 

Izuku nods with a smile, determination firming. “Of course. I’ll see you in the hero course.”

The girl grins. “That’s the spirit!” They walk in together, Tora buoyed by the girl’s bright cheer. She introduces herself as Uraraka Ochako, forcing Tora to do the same. Luckily she doesn’t seem to immediately recognize his last name, which is a relief in Tora’s eyes.

They have to split up when they reach the rooms where the written tests are being held, but they do it in good spirits. Tora sits down in his seat for the test and waiting for the test to start, practically stabbing the paper with his pencil when it’s put in front of him. He answers the questions with some difficulty; some are things he learned as a villain or when he was freed from their clutches, but some of them are things that he’s just not sure about. At the end of it he’s not sure how well he did, but he thinks he at least passed.

Everyone taking the exam is lead to an auditorium where they have assigned seats. Tora sits next to Kacchan, which isn’t too bad. Kacchan must sense his nervousness, because he silently hands him one of his stress balls, and Tora gives him a smile of thanks, making Kacchan snort and roll his eyes, though there’s a small smile on his face.

Present Mic walks up onto the stage below, the microphone crackling on with a dissonant noise that makes Kacchan wince and clutch at his hearing aid. Kacchan glares down at the stage, and if looks could kill Present Mic would be long dead by now. “Hello hello little listeners! Welcome to the UA entrance exam. In this exam you will be…” Present Mic goes on to tell them about the exam, the one, two, and three point robots. Tora tries to pay attention to the rest, but he finds his senses prickling, a cold finger tracing its way down his spine. His eyes slide instinctively to the shadows. For a moment he doesn’t see it. Then he does. On the stage below, a veil of shadows slides across the floor, poisonous and malignant, a force out of Izuku’s nightmares. 

But Izuku is no longer Izuku. No longer Deku. He’s Tora.

Tora leaps to his feet, interrupting Present Mic mid-word. “Present Mic, behind you!” Flicking his wrist a knife appears in his hand, and he throws it down at the stage to pin the shadows to the floor–

Only it goes right through, embedding itself into the stage. Tora blinks, and suddenly there are no shadows. Just a bunch of terrified students and heroes moving in on his location. Present Mic looks baffled, and he says, “Everyone please stay calmly in your seats while we get this sorted out.”

“Deku, what the fuck?” Kacchan hisses, giving him his best  _ what the fuck is wrong with you and tell me how to fix it _ glare.

Tora licks his lips. “I thought I saw… It. From that day.” Kacchan’s red eyes widen and he curses, getting to his feet and grabbing Tora around the wrist just as Midnight, Eraserhead, and Vlad King converge on them.

“Son, you’re going to have to come with us.” Vlad King says gruffly.

Tora nods, uncharacteristically silent. “I’m coming too.” Kacchan asserts, glaring down the heroes. 

Midnight tries to intervene, smiling at Kacchan. “That’s not necessary. Your friend will be fine, I promise.”

“Not necessary?” Kacchan thunders. “He just saw a fucking villain!”

The three heroes exchange glances, clearly skeptical, and Eraserhead makes a hand signal at Present Mic that Tora knows means  _ all clear _ . Tora can only sigh in relief as the heroes leave him be and the introduction continues. It had only been his imagination.

That was all.

* * *

Tora is practically humming with anticipation at the starting line, so when Present Mic says ‘go’ he’s off like a shot, weaving through the crowd of running humans and unzipping his pantskirt as he goes. Pulling his tiger skin over his head Tigris lands on all four paws, leading to several startled screams from the humans around him. Tigris ignores this, running with the streak of humans to get to their prey. There are several of the large rumbling things and Tigris pounces on one, metal shrieking underneath his claws as he tears it to shreds.

Humans are running all over destroying the prey alongside him, though some are having significant trouble. Tigris finds a human with his leg stuck under a pile of rubble, determinedly pounding on the rubble with hardened fists. Tigris scratches his claws against the pavement to get his attention, and the redhead looks up. He brightens, grinning with teeth that could give Tigris a run for his money. “Oh, hey dude! Do you mind giving me a hand?” Tigris doesn’t bother with words and quickly levers the rubble underneath his shoulder, letting the human slide his leg out from under it.

He stands, wincing only slightly, and Tigris rolls his shoulder, checking for damage and finding it a bit sore. “Thanks, man! You really saved my bacon.” The human says, punching him on the shoulder in a friendly manner. “My name’s Kirishima Eijiro.” He pauses, as if waiting for some response, and Tigris flicks his ears irritatedly at him. Kirishima looks sheepish. “Oh. Right.”

They both look up as two three pointers roll towards them, and Kirishima grins, his skin hardening, Tigris’s muscles coiling as he prepares to pounce.

Then, all at once, the robots stop. They power down, their lights flickering out. There are confused murmurs all around the arena, and prickles of fear make their way down Tigris’s spine. This is wrong. This is all-

The robots power back on, and on pure instinct alone Tigris leaps on top of Kirishima before he can react, bowling the human over as the prey fires right at them. Tigris hisses in pain as on of the shots nearly hamstrings him, blood splattering onto the pavement. The scent of blood fills his nose as terrified screams fill the air, humans being shot down while they try to run away. The whir of machine engines fill his ears and Tigris looks up, stepping off of Kirishima.

They’re being surrounded on all sides, more and more robots lining up behind the others to create a veritable horde surrounding them. Wasn’t this supposed to be a test? Could… could it be villains? Whatever it was, Tigris didn’t know. All he knew was that the predator had become the prey.

And he really didn’t like it.

* * *

“Are those Support flunkies crazy?!” Hizashi exclaims, watching on the screen as total chaos reigned in Arena 1-B, students being shot down and in one case, surrounded.

Aizawa reaches over and lifts up the phone connected to the Control room only to hear a dial tone. His face turns grim, and he turns to everyone. “The line’s dead.”

Vlad King pinches the bridge of his nose. He looks up. “Villains?”

Aizawa gets to his feet. “Most probably.”

“Then we must hurry.” All-Might says grimly. He doesn’t wait for them, using his superior speed to rush out of the room. Everyone else gets to their feet and follows, hoping that they make it in time.

* * *

Asuka had stuck close to Shinsou all throughout the physical exam. It didn’t seem to be a conscious decision on his part, because Shinsou could tell that Asuka was on edge. He obliterated robots without thought, taking out some nameless emotion on them as if to ease whatever was bugging him. Honestly, Shinsou wouldn’t mind if it didn’t mean he got zero points. He tried mind controlling this one guy to get points for him, but the points just went to him, not Shinsou. 

And that’s when everything started to go to hell in a handbasket. 

In the middle of the fight the robots suddenly all pause in sync, causing several of them to be easily destroyed. When they turn back on, it’s chaos. It’s like the robots have suddenly been turned to Hard Mode on a video game, except this video game is their lives, and now these robots are becoming inexorably focused on them.

Asuka and Shinsou are running for the safety of a building, hoping that the robots won’t be able to target them there. A shot blasts towards them and Asuka brings his water up to bear just in time, freezing it to block the blast. He unfreezes it and they keep going, and Shinsou can see the strain on him from using his quirk so many times. He’s already told Shinsou that he can use his own energy to multiply how much water or fire he has once he has it, but that must be taking a toll. 

A three pointer shoots at them and they duck behind a building, leaning against the side of it, both breathing heavily. “You doing… okay, Shinsou?” Asuka asks, getting his breath back so quickly that Shinsou suddenly wishes he’d trained his body a little bit more.

“Yeah… just… fine. You?”

Asuka grins at him, showing teeth. “Never better.”

They both look up as a two pointer comes rolling towards them. They both duck as it fires two shots at them, but the shots weren’t aimed at them. They were aimed overhead. They both glance up as large pieces of rubble break off from the building and start tumbling to the ground. Asuka takes a running leap and ducks and rolls, popping back to his feet and turning back around. Shinsou is so stuck on the unfairness of it all because  _ of course Endeavour’s son would be able to do something like that- _ that he doesn’t move right away. He takes three running steps forward and then something lands on top of him with the force of a tidal wave, pain firing through his body as his head hits the ground with a dull thud. 

Shinsou’s mind pieces itself back together slowly, and he groans, opening his eyes. His ears are ringing, and Asuka is saying something, yelling in an attempt to reach his likely permanently damaged brain. He looks up and sees a spear of ice go through a robot, an explosion rocking the air that he can’t hear that Asuka quickly takes advantage of, stealing it for himself and setting it off on another robot only to start the process all over again. There’s a wall of ice around them, high enough to defend them from blasts towards their person yet low enough that Asuka can see and destroy the robots.

Asuka is still yelling and Shinsou shakes his head, feeling his brain rattle around inside his skull. His ears finally clear, and he hears, “-can’t fucking hold this position forever, Shinsou! Can you move or not?” Shinsou twists his around to look, seeing the overwhelming pile of rubble on top of his legs and despairing. He gives it a good try anyway, but it’s no use. The pile is bigger than he is. There’s something warm and wet pooling beneath his stomach, and Shinsou realizes that he can’t feel his legs. Not at all. They were probably just numb or something. That was all. 

Shinsou turns back to Asuka, looking at his back, the set of his straight, determined shoulders where before he usually slouches. “No,” Shinsou says, his voice strained.

Asuka turns back to look at him, his face sweaty and pale but his smile crooked. “Let’s make this quick, then.”

And as he turns to face the horde, Shinsou can only pray.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd feel bad for the cliffhanger... except I really don't because I'm evil like that. XD
> 
> and yes, even with an animal mindset Izuku is still a self-destructive dumbass. seriously, learn some survival instincts, Tora-kun. 
> 
> kirishima:  
> i made a new friend and he's so manly  
> also kirishima:  
> is petting allowed??
> 
> Bakugou, about the villain attack:  
> i fucking KNEW IT

**Author's Note:**

> *Sen in Japanese means "wire", at least according to WordHippo.
> 
> There'll probably be a timeskip... ehh next chapter.
> 
> Note: about Asuka's feelings for Endeavour... Well, looking at the abusive relationship portrayed between Endeavour and Shouto, you can see that the mangaka hasn't studied abusive relationships at all, bc the relationship between Endeavour and Shouto is highly inaccurate.  
> For one thing, children in an abusive relationship don't even know they're _being_ abused, at least not consciously. This means that even if they hate their parent they'll still naturally love them and yearn for their approval (as all children do), even if they are walking on eggshells around them.
> 
> With that said, I'll still write Shouto with his canon feelings for his father, just with realistic elements added in. ^^
> 
> Alright, see y'all next chap! ^_^;


End file.
